Georgia football safety Malaki Starks was the only Bulldog to participate at the NFL Combine on Friday, but he made so many headlines that it made it up for the lack of Bulldogs performing on Friday.
Starks did pretty well in a lot of the measurement drills such as the vertical jump and 40-yard dash, but there were unfortunately a few other safeties who performed better than Starks. However, Starks was at his best during the on-field drills where he reached the highest speed in five different drills.
This obviously got the attention of a lot of NFL scouts at the Combine and made it very clear why Starks is regarded as a lock to be a first round draft pick later this spring. But how good do NFL Draft experts think Starks is going to be in the NFL?
NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah weighed in and made a very interesting comparison between Starks and one of the best NFL safeties in today's game.
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— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) February 28, 2025
Malaki Starks
6007
197
9 1/2 hand
31 5/8 arm
78 3/8 wing
Jessie Bates
6011
200
9 3/4 hand
31 5/8 arm
75 3/8 wing
Starks compared to the Atlanta Falcons' Jessie Bates
Jessie Bates is a safety for the Atlanta Falcons who is regarded as one of the top safeties in the NFL. Bates has been in the NFL since 2018 and so far throughout his career has recorded 712 tackles, 10 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and a whopping 24 interceptions. Bates also is one of the highest paid safeties in the NFL right now, so it is abundantly clear how nice of a comparison this is for Starks.
It's unclear who will end up drafting Starks later this spring, but it is about as close to a guarantee as possible that he will be selected in the first round. And who knows, maybe it is the Falcons that will draft him and pair him with Bates as Atlanta met with Starks at the Combine. Now that would be a fun secondary for Falcons fans to cheer on.